Avatar of S.L. Narayanan

S.L. Narayanan GM

Username: Indianlad

Location: Trivandrum,Kerala

Playing Since: 2011-12-30 (Active)

Wow Factor: ♟♟♟♟♟♟

Chess.com

Rapid: 2549
31W / 33L / 38D
Blitz: 3044
7075W / 4805L / 1634D
Bullet: 3145
4219W / 2782L / 488D

S.L. Narayanan (aka Indianlad) - Grandmaster Extraordinaire

Meet S.L. Narayanan, a Grandmaster (no less!) who dances across the 64 squares with a blend of strategic genius and relentless fighting spirit. With a FIDE title proudly earned, Narayanan is a force to be reckoned with in blitz, rapid, and bullet chess.

Rating & Records

  • Peak Blitz Rating: An electrifying 3099 points (April 2025) - sounds like a cheat code, but it’s all skill!
  • Peak Rapid Rating: A respectable 2684 (April 2022)
  • Peak Bullet Rating: A blazing 3138 (April 2021) - blink and you'll miss it!

Over thousands of games, Narayanan has mastered timing and nerves, boasting over 7,700 blitz wins and more than 4,000 bullet triumphs. The current longest winning streak? A jaw-dropping 30 games in a row. The longest losing streak? A humanizing 16 — even legends have their off days!

Playing Style

Known for an 85% comeback rate, Narayanan thrives under pressure, often turning the tables after losing a piece. With an eye for endgames (appearing in over 75% of his matches) and an average of 74 moves per win, his games are marathons, not sprints—much like a cerebral chess ninja who occasionally pauses for a dramatic flourish.

Favorite Openings

Narayanan plays “Top Secret” openings - literally! In blitz, he wins nearly 65% of the time using them, leaving opponents guessing. Classic openings like the Indian Game and Alapin Sicilian Defense also pepper his repertoire with roughly 50-60% win rates. He's not afraid to mix it up, though sometimes his Sicilian Open Najdorf shows a cheeky 39% win rate — proving even a Grandmaster enjoys a challenge!

Chess Personality & Fun Facts

This Grandmaster is a creature of the night, with his best results often coming around 1 AM — perfect for those who love midnight brain teasers. Despite the serious rankings, Narayanan’s approach to chess could be described as “fierce yet fun.” Don’t be fooled by his steady hand; he’s been known to conjure comebacks so spectacular even the pieces applaud.

Whether crushing opponents in lightning-fast bullet games, or engaging in deep, strategic battles in blitz marathons, S.L. Narayanan plays with passion, resilience, and a twinkle in the eye (if pieces could wink, they would).

Recent Highlights

In a recent online blitz battle on Chess.com, Narayanan brilliantly defeated SharapovEvgeny by resignation using the Modern Defense — a testament to his opening versatility and tactical sharpness. Despite a hard-fought loss to eljanov, our grandmaster's spirit remains unyielding.
Replay the recent win for a dose of strategic brilliance.


Coach's Avatar

Feedback for S.L. Narayanan

Dear S.L. Narayanan, your recent games show a strong strategic understanding and solid opening preparation, especially in complex positions. Here are some detailed observations and suggestions to further elevate your play:

Strengths:

  • Opening Knowledge: You demonstrate clear opening principles with accurate move orders and effective piece development, for example in your handling of the English and Sicilian structures.
  • Positional Awareness: You maneuver pieces purposefully, exchanging actively when beneficial and maintaining good pawn structure.
  • Endgame Technique: Your technique in converting favorable endgames is precise, showing good calculation and control.

Areas for Improvement:

  • Handling Opponent Initiative: In some losses, for example against RaunakSadhwani2005 and eljanov, the opponent's active play and space control created pressure. Working on counterplay and prophylaxis in such positions can help neutralize their plan earlier.
  • Time Management: In a few games, the clock pressure seemed to limit your decision-making. Consider incorporating more consistent pacing to avoid rushed critical moments.
  • Tactical Vigilance: Occasionally, opponents won by exploiting small tactical mistakes or missed defensive resources. Sharpening calculation speed and double-checking forcing lines can help.

Recommendations:

  • Continue working on your opening repertoire with focus on typical middlegame plans to maintain comfort across variations.
  • In complex middlegames when facing aggressive opponents, try to identify and blunt their active threats earlier to maintain equilibrium.
  • Practice time control balance during training to enhance both accuracy and time use, especially in fast formats.
  • Regularly solve tactical puzzles to keep calculation skills polished and ready for sharp moments in games.

Overall, your level is very strong and you are consistently competing well against high-rated opponents. With focused effort on these areas, you can convert even more promising positions and improve your results further!

Keep up the excellent work and focus on continuous improvement. Best of luck in your upcoming games!



🆚 Opponent Insights

Recent Opponents
masruri_rahman 1W / 0L / 0D
Arturs Bernotas 3W / 0L / 0D
Velimir Ivic 2W / 0L / 0D
Ruslan Gadzhiev 0W / 1L / 0D
Rodrigo Vasquez 4W / 4L / 1D
Mika Karttunen 3W / 0L / 0D
Maksym Dubnevych 8W / 2L / 0D
Reza Mahdavi 16W / 12L / 1D
Sergey Drygalov 16W / 12L / 5D
tassimo777 1W / 0L / 0D
Most Played Opponents
Raja Harshit 415W / 164L / 27D
Nihal Sarin 126W / 246L / 45D
Daniel Naroditsky 94W / 185L / 38D
Tuan Minh Le 86W / 187L / 30D
Aleksei Sarana 100W / 115L / 32D

Rating

Year Bullet Blitz Rapid Daily
2025 3041 3103 2549
2024 2919 3023 2514
2023 2922 3023 2523
2022 2824 2985 2543
2021 3047 2906 2595
2020 3070 2906 2614
2019 2892 1772 2511
2018 2736 2819
2017 2629 2676
2016 1874 2583
2015 2458
2014 2457
2013 2109
Rating by Year201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024202531031772YearRatingBulletBlitzRapid

Stats by Year

Year White Black Moves
2025 446W / 226L / 46D 422W / 227L / 52D 72.1
2024 423W / 192L / 47D 384W / 233L / 46D 78.0
2023 625W / 287L / 75D 521W / 361L / 105D 79.8
2022 405W / 190L / 65D 358W / 224L / 65D 85.7
2021 319W / 240L / 46D 278W / 302L / 49D 68.2
2020 1244W / 785L / 258D 1198W / 886L / 237D 75.9
2019 1308W / 874L / 253D 1158W / 1018L / 242D 77.8
2018 764W / 513L / 158D 687W / 577L / 145D 73.5
2017 494W / 326L / 88D 418W / 397L / 76D 72.1
2016 365W / 218L / 63D 331W / 249L / 61D 76.2
2015 4W / 2L / 0D 3W / 3L / 0D 72.1
2014 27W / 5L / 0D 24W / 7L / 1D 74.0
2013 15W / 2L / 1D 18W / 0L / 0D 66.1

Openings: Most Played

Blitz Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Unknown 1343 717 618 8 53.4%
Caro-Kann Defense 508 253 195 60 49.8%
Modern 354 188 128 38 53.1%
Amar Gambit 346 202 103 41 58.4%
Amazon Attack: Siberian Attack 313 165 108 40 52.7%
London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation 272 136 94 42 50.0%
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation 270 133 121 16 49.3%
Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation 247 130 92 25 52.6%
Sicilian Defense: Closed 232 140 73 19 60.3%
Scandinavian Defense 226 129 74 23 57.1%
Rapid Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Caro-Kann Defense 8 2 2 4 25.0%
Döry Defense 8 2 1 5 25.0%
English Opening: Agincourt Defense 7 2 3 2 28.6%
Hungarian Opening: Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit 5 3 1 1 60.0%
Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Classical Variation 4 1 2 1 25.0%
London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation 4 1 1 2 25.0%
QGD: Ragozin 3 0 2 1 0.0%
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation 3 1 1 1 33.3%
Blackburne Shilling Gambit 3 0 3 0 0.0%
Sicilian Defense: Closed 3 1 1 1 33.3%
Bullet Opening Games Wins Losses Draws Win Rate
Amar Gambit 434 263 150 21 60.6%
Colle System: Rhamphorhynchus Variation 426 249 159 18 58.5%
Scandinavian Defense 425 234 166 25 55.1%
Australian Defense 359 200 143 16 55.7%
Modern 307 162 126 19 52.8%
Nimzo-Larsen Attack 289 175 96 18 60.5%
Benoni Defense: Benoni Gambit Accepted 209 122 76 11 58.4%
Döry Defense 204 93 92 19 45.6%
Czech Defense 197 135 54 8 68.5%
Caro-Kann Defense 195 111 73 11 56.9%

🔥 Streaks

Streak Longest Current
Winning 30 1
Losing 16 0